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11. 24 and Torture

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11. 24 and Torture 11. 24 and Torture Bev Clucas* A. Introduction In contrast to the majority of the papers in this collection, this chapter does not examine the permissibility of torture or deal with one of the other more frequent angles on the topic. Instead, I consider the portrayal of torture as an element of entertainment in the Emmy-award winning television series 24 and pose the question whether 24’s depiction of torture crosses the boundary between mere entertainment and propaganda. Many of us are familiar with 24, the phenomenally popular series from the US, the seventh season of which is due to be aired in January 2009. The formula of each season is the same: 24 hours pass ‘in real-time’, as we follow the adventures of the protagonists, mainly personnel of a fictional body located in Los Angeles, CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit). Principal among the characters of the show is Jack Bauer, its hero. Each 24 hours (i.e. 24 episodes) is devoted to defeating some evil terrorist person or group. In each series, people are tortured or killed, in pursuit of a higher goal. The programme makes repeated use of a device called the ‘ticking time bomb’ scenario: the good guy has in his power a terrorist or suspected terrorist, against the backdrop of an imminent threat (for example, in 24’s case, nuclear bombs or biological weapons), which would have, if fulfilled, catastrophic consequences for innocent people. The terrorist refuses to talk – but the hero is convinced that if only he can persuade the suspect to spill the beans, this major catastrophe will be averted. Time is desperately short, so ‘persuasion’ (if any) quickly turns into a form of torture. In 24, torture is almost invariably successful as a means of extracting information, which ultimately does prevent the threatened disaster. The only exception to this rule is found in the character of Jack Bauer, who never capitulates, no matter how hard he is pressed. Despite, or perhaps because of its popular and commercial success, particularly in the context of the US and UK War on Terror and abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, a groundswell of concern about 24 has started to be heard. There is disquiet about the number of torture scenes on television, particularly since 9/11. The Parents’ Television Council has crowned 24 as the worst offender.1 Many people decry the inaccuracies about torture that are promulgated by the show. There is unease about * With grateful thanks to all who contributed to the gestation of this paper, particularly Suzanne Uniacke and Christian Twigg-Flesner. 1 J. Shirlen, ‘Worst TV Show of the Week’. Available online: <http://www.parentstvorg/ PTC/publications/bw/2007/0125worst.asp> (accessed 25 July 2008). 176 https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845214986-184, am 26.09.2021, 19:14:27 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb the effect the show may be having on real soldiers’ interrogation techniques.2 Others wonder whether 24 has a persuasive effect that works against the US and its allies – their enemies might themselves be more inclined to believe that torture is widespread amongst Western soldiers, and therefore feel themselves justified in violent action against US and UK soldiers and civilians. In this chapter, I explore and reflect on the underlying themes concerning torture and legitimate action in 24. I begin with a short introduction to the TV show itself, highlighting the many different instances of torture, as well as some of the general criticsms levelled at it. I then proceed to consider some of the moral issues associated with the dissemination of information about torture in general, first in relation to factual instances of torture, and then fictional. This discussion informs a more detailed analysis of the depiction of torture in 24.Havingconsideredthe express intentions of the programme makers, I apply a scheme of analysis on ‘speech acts’ devised by J.L.Austin, and developed by Langton, to argue that the real intention of the programme makers is better understood as pro-torture propaganda: an instance of double immorality, as not only does the show push a pro- torture message, but also, it does so under the pretense of pure entertainment. B. The show The series began in 2001, making it broadly contemporaneous with 9/11. The unique selling point of the show is that all the action takes place ‘in real-time’. Each hour of an episode on television accounts for an hour in the life of the show. Even breaks for adverts count towards time elapsed. As the action of each series takes part within one 24-hour period, there is urgency to the drama on the screen, which is augmented by the recurrent interpolation of a digital clock, and frequent use of split-screens, enabling the viewer to see the simultaneous activities of different characters. The good guys of the series, by and large, are the staff of CTU and the American Administration. It is CTU’s task to prevent or frustrate threatened terrorist attacks. The prevention of terrorism requires intelligence. And in 24, the necessary information is almost always obtained by torture. Unusually, at least at the time the programme was first aired, torture is done just as much by the good people as the bad – if not more. The types of torture I have viewed on the show include, but are not limited to, the following:3 x Hanging a person on hooks x the application of hot scalpels to the body 2 See below. 3 References to specific seasons and episodes where these particular instances occur have not been included for the sake of concision. All are taken from seasons 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845214986-184, am 26.09.2021, 19:14:27 177 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb x the application of a sanding machine to the body x beating someone up or other physical violence x targeted physical harm (e.g. the bundle of nerves on the shoulder) intended to cause the maximum possible pain x aggravation of wounds with caustic liquid x pharmaceutical torture – injections to cause pain (hyocine-pentothal) x removing the tip of someone’s finger with a cigar cutter x threats to shoot x breaking a suspect’s fingers x using a power drill on someone’s shoulder x threats with a knife x shooting a suspect in the leg and threatening to shoot the other one if the information is not revealed x non-specific threats to ‘do anything to get answers’ x threats to kill a loved one x electric shocks (including at the order of the President) x electrocution using a hotel lamp x shocks by taser x denial of painkillers to someone suffering from a bullet wound x psychological torture in the form of a fake execution of the wife and children of a terrorist. Howard Gordon, one of the show’s writers who invents many of the torture scenes, describes them as ‘improvisations in sadism’.4 Their source material includes CIA interrogation manuals, but the scenes in the programme are mainly the result of writers’ imagination. However, Gordon admits that ‘the truth is, there is a certain amount of fatigue. It’s getting harder not to repeat the same torture techniques over and over’.5 Perhaps 24 is nothing more than a phenomenally successful TV show with a nasty imagination. But various people have been raising concerns about the effects of the show. I. Effects of the show In 2006, there was a visit by US Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, Dean of the United States Military Academy at West point, to meet the creative team of 24. 4 J. Mayer, ‘Whatever it takes: the politics of the man behind ‘24’’ The New Yorker 19 February 2007, p. 3. Available online: <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219 fa_fact_mayer?printable=true> (accessed 11 July 2008) 5Ibid. 178 https://doi.org/10.5771/9783845214986-184, am 26.09.2021, 19:14:27 Open Access - http://www.nomos-elibrary.de/agb Also accompanying him were persons described as three ‘of the most experienced military and FBI interrogators in the country’.6 This delegation had come to express their concerns about what they saw as the primary political and moral messages of the show – that protection against torture under American law must practically, and morally ought to be, surrendered, in order to preserve security. Apparently, the immoral and illegal behaviour endorsed by the show had already had a negative effect on real American soldiers in training.7 To this, Philippe Sands adds a descriptionofthewayinwhich24 provided both the inspiration for interrogation techniques8 and ‘[c]ultural sensitisation... that normalised violence and justify aggression.’9 Other concerns have been raised about the nature of the entertainment in 24,as well as this allegedly corrosive effect on the minds and methods of US soldiers. One criticism is that the ticking time bomb scenario hardly (if ever) happens in real life, and that by perpetually presenting this plot device as the case where torture is acceptable or even required, those watching the show become more inclined to accept the permissibility of torture in other cases.10 And, an important point stressed by real-life interrogators is that torture is not effective – it does not yield reliable information. Yet shows such as 24 send the message that the essential and correct information obtained by torture is what justifies the torture in the first place.11 B. Are bad consequences the only measure? These consequences, if they do indeed result from the broadcast of shows such as 24, are alarming and arguably immoral.
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